I see your point about how it failed in the immediate sense, but I still feel there is a difference. I suppose it's because I simply can't imagine that a few people crushing CDs with a steamroller will be taught in 7th grade history classes a century from now. The fact that we still talk about the Boston Tea Party seems to indicate that it had some impact when it occurred, even if it wasn't exactly what was desired. I don't see the CD-crushing as having an impact at all.
The people who give a damn are ALWAYS outnumbered.
I'm also afraid that the number of people interested in working for change is a near-constant number whose percentage dwindles rapidly with the increase in population. The more people there are, the more things become produced for masses, making it easier to keep a firm grip on everything.
The key is having a well organized and potent interest group who can work for effective, peaceful change and legislative reform...
This was my final conclusion (only rhetorically implied, actually), and the conclusion of the post I was replying to. It seems we all concur, but we're still not organized.;)
The problem with revolts and revolutions is that they are very costly to a society and a culture.
The only revolution I want to see is ideological, not a repeat of the French revolution.
I'm not sure about the GED at 16. It seems you'd have a few types of kids wanting to get out:
Kids who aren't really cut out for school, but are intelligent and hardworking.
Kids who want to go to college and have already outstripped what they can generally learn at highschool.
Kids who are "troublemakers" and just don't want the hassle.
The first two groups should pretty easy to take care of, and I imagine it would be equally easy to determine which kids fall where. Students in the first group would probably be better off being "apprentices" in a field they enjoy, although admittedly this is not usually handled adequately these days. Students in the second group should obviously just be allowed to go to college. It's the third group that poses the most difficulties. Are kids really "troublemakers"? Wouldn't most children, if provided with the proper opportunities and treated like decent human beings, fall into one of the first two groups, or just be normal, happy students? Are there people for whom it is too late? And what about the cases where kids really DO just want to cause trouble, no matter how much we try to do for them?
Another issue is how much education should be expected as a minimum. I think education is important to allow people to fully participate in society. Imagine how many fewer people would get suckered by con artists if we educated them about how science and knoweldge acquisition actually works, not just boring facts they won't remember past the next test. The one area that schools seem most likely to fail to address is teaching children how to think. Not "how to think like a puppet doomed to work in a cubicle forever", but "how to address an issue, deal with it in a complex manner, look at all sides of it, come up with an idea about it, examine that ideas for flaws and biases, describe the idea to other people in a coherent fashion, and discuss other related ideas with the purpose of learning more about the issue". This is the thinking process that is so sadly neglected in modern society, the lack of which is capitalized upon by the government and corporations who rely on ignorance for their continued existence.
Another problem is found in our society's tendency to base everything on "tests". There is an entire industry in certifications rooted in the idea that you can give someone a test to demonstrate their expertise in an area. It's a lazy, cheap way of evaluating people. Is a GED a good way of determining anything? In Texas, students who wasted most of their high school education can make up most (if not all) of the credits by taking computer-based courses in any core subject -- history, math, science, whatever. The tests they have to pass are multiple choice, and they can take the tests as many times as they need to pass. Then they get a regular diploma, just like the students who actually attended class and worked for their knowledge. Some people will say that it doesn't matter, because the people who took the easy way out will not be motivated enough to continue on anyway, but if that's the case, why bother with the diplomas to begin with?
Using tests as a basis of evalutating knowledge may cause more problems than it solves. The solution isn't a test, but time. We need real counselors who will spend enough time with the students to help them as much as possible. Real life in a primate society isn't about tests, but how much we can look to each other for help when we need it.
How's that for sending a message to the RIAA and the powers-that-be?
Millions of people worldwide organized in protest against the war in Iraq didn't help any, sadly. I'm not saying I'm for or against the war, but the administration who carried out the war plans pretended as if a massive worldwide outcry didn't even exist. If they can ignore so many people and move forward with their agenda as if no one else's opinions or ideas mattered in the slightest, then who will the money-grubbing whores side with when it comes to the issue of copyright legislation and file-sharing? The rich RIAA corporations who line their pockets, or a few "music thieves" who crunch some CDs in the street?
It's odd... that kind of thing worked with the Boston Tea Party. Now it seems that there is simply too much money in the corporations, and too many people who are ignorant and apathetic that the RIAA companies can count on for their revenue. Are the people who do give a damn hopelessly outnumbered? Or are we just too disorganized to make a difference?
What if you want a specific brand of laptop, and these brands that are sold by the vendors in your post don't cut it? What if I want to go to Circuit City and buy a Toshiba without WinXP?
Toshiba may have branded the laptop, but who actually made it? I haven't looked up the specifics for that brand, but it appears that many of them are made by the same few companies. So, perhaps one of the online vendors really does have what you're looking for... just under a different brand name.
At any rate, I hate the way the site licensing and pre-installed licensing arrangements work. Every vendor should allow you to purchase a computer without a pre-licensed OS already installed on it. Also, if you DO purchase the OS, it should come with original install disks, not those hobbled brand-only restore disks. I think those stupid disks may be due to license agreements that require that a particular installation of the OS can only be installed on a particular machine, and if you get rid of the machine, the OS license has to accompany it. What a crock.
In Texas, for instance, they have a number of things going on...
One is the "Robin Hood" plan (which I imagine other states have, too) in which the wealthier school districts have some of their money sent to poorer districts. This has caused a lot of unrest, naturally in the rich families whose kids already waste more opportunities every day than the children in poorer areas may ever see in their lives. Last I heard, the Robin Hood plan was suspended, but I don't know what other type of plan they may be working out.
Another is when district lines are redrawn to funnel money to different regions. The amount of money a school gets is based on the property values in that region. If a large corporation comes in and drives up property values, the region lines can be redrawn, adding more highly valued property to regions that have wealthy people living there. Thus, the school budget money gets funnelled into schools that already have plenty, while the schools that WERE in that region are now in one that has a lower overall property value, and they get totally screwed.
If I ever have children, they will be homeschooled. I'm not sending them to one of these moronically run institutions.
What's interesting is that when the school had the mandatory state standardized testing, I got to see the REAL results, and was forbidden to show them to anyone who did not work at the school. They didn't want anyone else seeing how bad everything was going until they had a chance to play with the numbers.
I can speak to this a little bit, as I actually used to teach high school...
You see, schools make money based on the number of students that attend every class period. If a student drops out, that's less money the school is getting. The school at which I taught went nuts looking for dropouts. School-wide PA announcements were made regularly asking if anyone had heard from various students, or even seen them around town. They don't care if the kid is in class getting educated... it's all about the money.
Also, if too many students dropout, your school gets flagged as low performing and you lose money that way, too. Any tactic the school can use that is inexpensive and provides an easy, scattershot approach to keeping as many kids in classrooms as possible will be used.
The great thing to administrators is that they can keep the kids in class, get all the money, and they still don't have to spend it on teachers. School administration generally uses budget surplus to control departments and hammer teachers into submission or force them into retirement.
PowerNotebooks.com even has pre-installed linux on selected models, if you want. Build your own system and you don't have to have an OS installed at all.
I'm sure there are more out there... Just pop over to ResellerRatings.com and search for notebook or laptop.
The common US practice of holding elections on a weekday seems - strange. Almost as if it's designed to discourage those who aren't able to afford time off work.
I'm not sure if this is a federal regulation or not, but in the states I've lived in so far, employers are required to give you time off (an hour, I believe) with pay so you can vote.
I think they have us vote on weekdays because Americans, while more than happy to spend their employers time at a polling station, are probably not willing to spend any of their precious weekend time at one. (Perhaps it would be a different story if Americans didn't work such neurotic hours. After you spend 1 to 2 hours a day in traffic, then 8 to 9 hours in an office, you're getting up at 6, getting home at 7, and have maybe 3 hours to yourself before you have to go to bed and get insufficient sleep to deal with the next mindnumbing day...)
"Using our matching technology, we identify the user name, the protocol they're using, which file-sharing protocol if it's just a web protocol or not. But the most important piece of information we detect is their IP address," explained Mr Ishikawa.
"Matching Technology"? Oh no! They've learned to use regular expressions to parse an unencrypted text stream! Good lord! Now no one will be safe swapping files online! However will the file sharers bypass the modern technological marvel of grep?
Bruce: Gentlemen, I'd like to introduce a chap from across the pond who's going to be joining us here at the 'Straylian LUG. Bruces: G'day! Darl McBride: Hello. Bruce: Darl McBride, Bruce. Darl McBride, Bruce. Darl McBride, Bruce. Bruce: Is your name not Bruce? McBride: No, it's Darl. Bruce: Mind if we call you Bruce to keep it clear? Bruce: Gentlemen, I think we better start the LUG meeting. Before we start, though, I'd like to ask the padre for a prayer! Bruce: Oh Stallman we beseech thee! Bruces: Amen! Bruce: Crack tube! Bruce: Now I call upon Bruce to officially welcome Mr. McBride to the 'Straylian LUG. Bruce: I'd like to welcome the slimy bastard to God's own OS, and remind him we don't like stuck-up sticky-beaks here. Bruces: Hear, hear! Well spoken, Bruce! Bruce: Bruce here is a kernel hacker, Bruce here is a system administrator, and Bruce here checks source code for copyright infringement. And is also in charge of the BitKeeper repository. Bruce: What's New-Bruce going to do? Bruce: New-Bruce will attempt to undermine the legality of the linux source code, mislead the public about the nature of SCO's copyrighted code, question the validity of the GPL, and possibly have a secret partnership with Microsoft to reduce the spread of linux in the server and desktop markets by using a smear campaign. Bruce: But that's a load of bullsh%t! Bruce: Awwww spit! Bruce: Howls of derisive laughter, Bruce! Bruces: Australia, Australia, Australia, Australia, we love ya! Amen! Bruce: Another tube! Bruce: Any questions? Bruce: New-Bruce, Are you a monopolist? Bruce: Are you a monopolist? McBride: No! Bruce: No. Right, I just want to remind you of the LUG member rules: Rule 1: No monopolists! Rule 2: No member of the LUG is to use SCO source code in the linux kernel... if there's anybody watching. Rule 3: No monopolists! Rule 4: Now this term, I don't want to see any member of the LUG not infringing on SCO's copyright. Rule 5: No monopolists! Rule 6: There is no!--- Rule 6! Rule 7: No monopolists! Right, that concludes the reading of the rules. Bruce! Bruce: This here's the penguin, the emblem of our source. You can feed it nasty SCO code, if you don't get caught, of course. Amen!
Liiiiinuus Torvalds was nearly bald and made his own O-S, and linux it was called. Billy Gates came to take it away, but his server couldn't cut it. Linux was here to stay! Big Blue, Big Blue was supporting it too, and linux's growth seemed assured. Then Darl McBride came along and tried to sucker punch linux in the gut.
There's nothing Stallman wouldn't call 'em when it came to G-P-L. He figured all the naysayers could die and go to hell!
Buuuut linux wasn't taken and linux wasn't shaken. It wouldn't be that easy to kill(1) The penguin's here to stay, and if McBride won't play he can take his silly lawsuit and go away. Billy Gates, Billy Gates just stews and waits for the day when his junk is obsolete. And come that day we'll all go play Doom 3 on our linux boxen. Sweeeeet!
Yes McBride can take his silly lawsuit and just go away. 'Cause the GPL will hold up and open source will save the day!
====
Sincerest apologies to Monty Python. And Australia, too. And linux... And the Australian LUG... And anyone mentioned in the above spoof. I'm truly sorry. Really. (And for the fact that the song meter isn't exactly correct... and that many of the facts mentioned are probably distorted. It's all just a joke, I promise!)
That is the exact reason I'm going into this area of research. I think it's so incredibly likely that computers will achieve a human-type (and superhuman level) of intelligence that I plan to be a part of designing it.
I figure I'd better have a say in what's going to happen in my life regarding technology. I imagine humans WILL become obsolete, so the best we can do is try not to make it painful for ourselves when it happens.
Outgoing Whitehouse Press Secretary Ari Fleischer's replacement has been selected. Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf, who was previously the Iraqi Information Minister, was handpicked by President George Bush after minimal deliberation.
Mr. al-Sahaf was quoted as saying, "The glorious Bush administration will utterly defeat and destroy the terrorists wherever they may hide. The perpetrators of Evil cannot stand against the brilliant light of the excellent, most worthy President Bush. Only fools, cowards, and terrorists would dare to speak out against his splendid agenda of creating a formidable government agency charged with investigating American citizens to determine their potentially wicked motives. And what better company than the gracious, innovative Microsoft Corporation to help this agency carry out its noble mission?"
I have to reply to my own post to protect my dignity.
Yes, everyone, I realize there are ways across the ocean. Chunnel, ferry, etc.
There's a chance you haven't seen this and therefore didn't get the reference.;)
(If you haven't seen it and you watch it and get hooked on it and spend lots of time clicking all over the entire site to find all the funny bits, it isn't my fault.
>>I'm driving from England, a 2400 mile round trip!
To mainland Europe? Do you have an amphibious assault vehicle? And if so, do you take it out often? And if so, are you on a quest for global domination? I just happen to be the greatest criminal mind of our time...
Thank you for your well-stated response. I'm always afraid that questions will be seen as a tad abrasive, but you have taken it in the right spirit.
First of all, I want to sympathize with your economic plight. I am also by no means rich. I work full-time, and my wife and I are both students. We make our payments and have a little left over for food and such.
Second of all, I'm not the champion charitable donor myself. I'm pretty scattered, and I have a hard time budgeting for things like that. My suggestions were just as much geared towards myself as you or anyone else.
Finally, I don't want to downplay the other social contributions you are making. Open source software is a Good Thing (TM), but I also like your list of donees very much. It has inspired me to make sure to keep those kinds of organizations in mind, especially the EFF and my local public radio station. (Nothing against the ACLU, but I figure they get a lot more donations than the EFF and my local NPR affiliate combined.) Maybe I'll find the extra money for a political contribution this year, too... and I'm DEFINITELY voting this Presidential race, even in the primaries.
A better question would be: "Why don't you give to the other open-source software projects?"
I know it seems like a pain, but pick a few of your favorites (maybe 3 to 5) and start setting aside a little money. Collect your spare change, or sell something on eBay, or whatever. Then donate 5 to 10 bucks to each of the projects.
I would expect you'd want to feel reasonably certain the developers will put the money to good use (buying helpful books or equipment), rather than dipping into the project fund to buy pizza and beer. Still, I imagine that once you've selected some worthy projects and sent them a little money it will make you feel good to have helped, and maybe you'll even be more likely to do it again in the future.
I hate to be a "me too" poster, but the above poster is absolutely correct.
I tried version 1.0 and almost immediately switched to koffice (on linux). (At work, I tinkered with OO and AbiWord, but for the most part I have to stick with department standards, so I still have MS Word there.)
I recently installed the 1.1 beta, and it was dramatically better. Documents that choked 1.0 opened perfectly in 1.1. It even does a great job at handling PowerPoint presentations. (The main glitch I've noticed is it doesn't get the "path" correct when connecting two boxes with a connector line, but I imagine most simple presentations just have words and pictures.)
I love the Flash export for presentations and the PDF export for documents. No more having to print to a PS file and convert it, or install some PDF writer print driver. I also like the ODBC data interface, although I haven't yet figured out how to create a new datastore to add things to.
Aside from a few "cosmetic" issues (faster loading, more improved filters, etc.), the main thing they need to make OO a total MSOffice killer is an Access replacement, and possibly a Visio replacement. It would be nice if they could get enough developers to tackle the same kinds of projects as the KOffice team.
As the parent post says: even if you didn't like 1.0, give 1.1 a try. It is a vast improvement.
I was wondering that myself. The best place to keep track of this stuff is the Phoenix forums.
For the record, apparently they've decided on a name, but it hasn't received final approval from the lawyers yet. When it does, I'm guessing they'll announce the name and come out with a new release shortly thereafter.
Servers currently support SSL, and future versions will allow end-to-end encryption of the conversation itself.
Stability.
There are many different jabber clients. Some are more stable than others. Right now, I use Psi, which hasn't crashed on me once.
It should look nice and have a cool GUI.
Again, lots of different clients. I think Psi's GUI is nice. It certainly isn't as crufty as ICQ. But YMMV on this one.
It should be IM client, and nothing else.
Again, lots of clients to choose from. I don't know what kinds of features they may offer, but I'm sure there's bound to be one suited to you.
Portability.
Psi is written against QT and runs on Windows and linux. Not sure about other platforms, but I know there are Java clients out there that should run on nearly anything.
Zero tolerance policy on SPAM.
This would be up to the individual jabber server. The only thing I really got spam with is ICQ, though, which is why I don't use it. I don't get AIM spam since I stopped accepting messages from people not on my buddy list.
Support for modules.
This I'm not completely sure about. I know the SSL stuff for Psi is a drop in module. You just put the DLL (or.so if using linux) in the program's directory, and when you start back up, you have SSL available.
An open protocol specification.
The jabber protocol is completely open and 100% free. Anyone who wants is able to not only write their own client, but also their own server. Anyone can download the reference server code and run their own, too. It's very nice.
A real revenue model, not based on ads or spyware.
Slashdot Mirror
I see your point about how it failed in the immediate sense, but I still feel there is a difference. I suppose it's because I simply can't imagine that a few people crushing CDs with a steamroller will be taught in 7th grade history classes a century from now. The fact that we still talk about the Boston Tea Party seems to indicate that it had some impact when it occurred, even if it wasn't exactly what was desired. I don't see the CD-crushing as having an impact at all.
The people who give a damn are ALWAYS outnumbered.
I'm also afraid that the number of people interested in working for change is a near-constant number whose percentage dwindles rapidly with the increase in population. The more people there are, the more things become produced for masses, making it easier to keep a firm grip on everything.
The key is having a well organized and potent interest group who can work for effective, peaceful change and legislative reform...
This was my final conclusion (only rhetorically implied, actually), and the conclusion of the post I was replying to. It seems we all concur, but we're still not organized. ;)
The problem with revolts and revolutions is that they are very costly to a society and a culture.
The only revolution I want to see is ideological, not a repeat of the French revolution.
- Kids who aren't really cut out for school, but are intelligent and hardworking.
- Kids who want to go to college and have already outstripped what they can generally learn at highschool.
- Kids who are "troublemakers" and just don't want the hassle.
The first two groups should pretty easy to take care of, and I imagine it would be equally easy to determine which kids fall where. Students in the first group would probably be better off being "apprentices" in a field they enjoy, although admittedly this is not usually handled adequately these days. Students in the second group should obviously just be allowed to go to college. It's the third group that poses the most difficulties. Are kids really "troublemakers"? Wouldn't most children, if provided with the proper opportunities and treated like decent human beings, fall into one of the first two groups, or just be normal, happy students? Are there people for whom it is too late? And what about the cases where kids really DO just want to cause trouble, no matter how much we try to do for them?Another issue is how much education should be expected as a minimum. I think education is important to allow people to fully participate in society. Imagine how many fewer people would get suckered by con artists if we educated them about how science and knoweldge acquisition actually works, not just boring facts they won't remember past the next test. The one area that schools seem most likely to fail to address is teaching children how to think. Not "how to think like a puppet doomed to work in a cubicle forever", but "how to address an issue, deal with it in a complex manner, look at all sides of it, come up with an idea about it, examine that ideas for flaws and biases, describe the idea to other people in a coherent fashion, and discuss other related ideas with the purpose of learning more about the issue". This is the thinking process that is so sadly neglected in modern society, the lack of which is capitalized upon by the government and corporations who rely on ignorance for their continued existence.
Another problem is found in our society's tendency to base everything on "tests". There is an entire industry in certifications rooted in the idea that you can give someone a test to demonstrate their expertise in an area. It's a lazy, cheap way of evaluating people. Is a GED a good way of determining anything? In Texas, students who wasted most of their high school education can make up most (if not all) of the credits by taking computer-based courses in any core subject -- history, math, science, whatever. The tests they have to pass are multiple choice, and they can take the tests as many times as they need to pass. Then they get a regular diploma, just like the students who actually attended class and worked for their knowledge. Some people will say that it doesn't matter, because the people who took the easy way out will not be motivated enough to continue on anyway, but if that's the case, why bother with the diplomas to begin with?
Using tests as a basis of evalutating knowledge may cause more problems than it solves. The solution isn't a test, but time. We need real counselors who will spend enough time with the students to help them as much as possible. Real life in a primate society isn't about tests, but how much we can look to each other for help when we need it.
Millions of people worldwide organized in protest against the war in Iraq didn't help any, sadly. I'm not saying I'm for or against the war, but the administration who carried out the war plans pretended as if a massive worldwide outcry didn't even exist. If they can ignore so many people and move forward with their agenda as if no one else's opinions or ideas mattered in the slightest, then who will the money-grubbing whores side with when it comes to the issue of copyright legislation and file-sharing? The rich RIAA corporations who line their pockets, or a few "music thieves" who crunch some CDs in the street?
It's odd... that kind of thing worked with the Boston Tea Party. Now it seems that there is simply too much money in the corporations, and too many people who are ignorant and apathetic that the RIAA companies can count on for their revenue. Are the people who do give a damn hopelessly outnumbered? Or are we just too disorganized to make a difference?
Toshiba may have branded the laptop, but who actually made it? I haven't looked up the specifics for that brand, but it appears that many of them are made by the same few companies. So, perhaps one of the online vendors really does have what you're looking for... just under a different brand name.
At any rate, I hate the way the site licensing and pre-installed licensing arrangements work. Every vendor should allow you to purchase a computer without a pre-licensed OS already installed on it. Also, if you DO purchase the OS, it should come with original install disks, not those hobbled brand-only restore disks. I think those stupid disks may be due to license agreements that require that a particular installation of the OS can only be installed on a particular machine, and if you get rid of the machine, the OS license has to accompany it. What a crock.
In Texas, for instance, they have a number of things going on...
One is the "Robin Hood" plan (which I imagine other states have, too) in which the wealthier school districts have some of their money sent to poorer districts. This has caused a lot of unrest, naturally in the rich families whose kids already waste more opportunities every day than the children in poorer areas may ever see in their lives. Last I heard, the Robin Hood plan was suspended, but I don't know what other type of plan they may be working out.
Another is when district lines are redrawn to funnel money to different regions. The amount of money a school gets is based on the property values in that region. If a large corporation comes in and drives up property values, the region lines can be redrawn, adding more highly valued property to regions that have wealthy people living there. Thus, the school budget money gets funnelled into schools that already have plenty, while the schools that WERE in that region are now in one that has a lower overall property value, and they get totally screwed.
If I ever have children, they will be homeschooled. I'm not sending them to one of these moronically run institutions.
I hadn't read that... thanks for pointing it out.
What's interesting is that when the school had the mandatory state standardized testing, I got to see the REAL results, and was forbidden to show them to anyone who did not work at the school. They didn't want anyone else seeing how bad everything was going until they had a chance to play with the numbers.
I can speak to this a little bit, as I actually used to teach high school...
You see, schools make money based on the number of students that attend every class period. If a student drops out, that's less money the school is getting. The school at which I taught went nuts looking for dropouts. School-wide PA announcements were made regularly asking if anyone had heard from various students, or even seen them around town. They don't care if the kid is in class getting educated... it's all about the money.
Also, if too many students dropout, your school gets flagged as low performing and you lose money that way, too. Any tactic the school can use that is inexpensive and provides an easy, scattershot approach to keeping as many kids in classrooms as possible will be used.
The great thing to administrators is that they can keep the kids in class, get all the money, and they still don't have to spend it on teachers. School administration generally uses budget surplus to control departments and hammer teachers into submission or force them into retirement.
I'm sure there are more out there... Just pop over to ResellerRatings.com and search for notebook or laptop.
I'm not sure if this is a federal regulation or not, but in the states I've lived in so far, employers are required to give you time off (an hour, I believe) with pay so you can vote.
I think they have us vote on weekdays because Americans, while more than happy to spend their employers time at a polling station, are probably not willing to spend any of their precious weekend time at one. (Perhaps it would be a different story if Americans didn't work such neurotic hours. After you spend 1 to 2 hours a day in traffic, then 8 to 9 hours in an office, you're getting up at 6, getting home at 7, and have maybe 3 hours to yourself before you have to go to bed and get insufficient sleep to deal with the next mindnumbing day...)
"Matching Technology"? Oh no! They've learned to use regular expressions to parse an unencrypted text stream! Good lord! Now no one will be safe swapping files online! However will the file sharers bypass the modern technological marvel of grep?
Bruce: Gentlemen, I'd like to introduce a chap from across the pond who's going to be joining us here at the 'Straylian LUG.
Bruces: G'day!
Darl McBride: Hello.
Bruce: Darl McBride, Bruce. Darl McBride, Bruce. Darl McBride, Bruce.
Bruce: Is your name not Bruce?
McBride: No, it's Darl.
Bruce: Mind if we call you Bruce to keep it clear?
Bruce: Gentlemen, I think we better start the LUG meeting. Before we start, though, I'd like to ask the padre for a prayer!
Bruce: Oh Stallman we beseech thee!
Bruces: Amen!
Bruce: Crack tube!
Bruce: Now I call upon Bruce to officially welcome Mr. McBride to the 'Straylian LUG.
Bruce: I'd like to welcome the slimy bastard to God's own OS, and remind him we don't like stuck-up sticky-beaks here.
Bruces: Hear, hear! Well spoken, Bruce!
Bruce: Bruce here is a kernel hacker, Bruce here is a system administrator, and Bruce here checks source code for copyright infringement. And is also in charge of the BitKeeper repository.
Bruce: What's New-Bruce going to do?
Bruce: New-Bruce will attempt to undermine the legality of the linux source code, mislead the public about the nature of SCO's copyrighted code, question the validity of the GPL, and possibly have a secret partnership with Microsoft to reduce the spread of linux in the server and desktop markets by using a smear campaign.
Bruce: But that's a load of bullsh%t!
Bruce: Awwww spit!
Bruce: Howls of derisive laughter, Bruce!
Bruces: Australia, Australia, Australia, Australia, we love ya! Amen!
Bruce: Another tube!
Bruce: Any questions?
Bruce: New-Bruce, Are you a monopolist?
Bruce: Are you a monopolist?
McBride: No!
Bruce: No. Right, I just want to remind you of the LUG member rules:
Rule 1: No monopolists!
Rule 2: No member of the LUG is to use SCO source code in the linux kernel... if there's anybody watching.
Rule 3: No monopolists!
Rule 4: Now this term, I don't want to see any member of the LUG not infringing on SCO's copyright.
Rule 5: No monopolists!
Rule 6: There is no!--- Rule 6!
Rule 7: No monopolists!
Right, that concludes the reading of the rules. Bruce!
Bruce: This here's the penguin, the emblem of our source. You can feed it nasty SCO code, if you don't get caught, of course. Amen!
Liiiiinuus Torvalds was nearly bald and made his own O-S, and linux it was called.
Billy Gates came to take it away, but his server couldn't cut it. Linux was here to stay!
Big Blue, Big Blue was supporting it too, and linux's growth seemed assured.
Then Darl McBride came along and tried to sucker punch linux in the gut.
There's nothing Stallman wouldn't call 'em when it came to G-P-L.
He figured all the naysayers could die and go to hell!
Buuuut linux wasn't taken and linux wasn't shaken. It wouldn't be that easy to kill(1)
The penguin's here to stay, and if McBride won't play he can take his silly lawsuit and go away.
Billy Gates, Billy Gates just stews and waits for the day when his junk is obsolete.
And come that day we'll all go play Doom 3 on our linux boxen. Sweeeeet!
Yes McBride can take his silly lawsuit and just go away.
'Cause the GPL will hold up and open source will save the day!
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Sincerest apologies to Monty Python. And Australia, too. And linux... And the Australian LUG... And anyone mentioned in the above spoof. I'm truly sorry. Really. (And for the fact that the song meter isn't exactly correct... and that many of the facts mentioned are probably distorted. It's all just a joke, I promise!)
The Vorbis team is working with the makers of Neuros to update the player's firmware to decode Ogg Vorbis files.
It's nearly complete.
That is the exact reason I'm going into this area of research. I think it's so incredibly likely that computers will achieve a human-type (and superhuman level) of intelligence that I plan to be a part of designing it.
I figure I'd better have a say in what's going to happen in my life regarding technology. I imagine humans WILL become obsolete, so the best we can do is try not to make it painful for ourselves when it happens.
>> I absolutely 100% guarantee you that IBM, HP, and
>> Sun (and even thought not mentioned) Dell's
>> biggest customer is the US government.
Actually, I used to work for Sun's 2nd largest customer. At the time (so the IT server people told me), the first largest was a company in Japan.
Outgoing Whitehouse Press Secretary Ari Fleischer's replacement has been selected. Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf, who was previously the Iraqi Information Minister, was handpicked by President George Bush after minimal deliberation.
Mr. al-Sahaf was quoted as saying, "The glorious Bush administration will utterly defeat and destroy the terrorists wherever they may hide. The perpetrators of Evil cannot stand against the brilliant light of the excellent, most worthy President Bush. Only fools, cowards, and terrorists would dare to speak out against his splendid agenda of creating a formidable government agency charged with investigating American citizens to determine their potentially wicked motives. And what better company than the gracious, innovative Microsoft Corporation to help this agency carry out its noble mission?"
Yes, everyone, I realize there are ways across the ocean. Chunnel, ferry, etc.
There's a chance you haven't seen this and therefore didn't get the reference. ;)
(If you haven't seen it and you watch it and get hooked on it and spend lots of time clicking all over the entire site to find all the funny bits, it isn't my fault .
>>I'm driving from England, a 2400 mile round trip!
To mainland Europe? Do you have an amphibious assault vehicle? And if so, do you take it out often? And if so, are you on a quest for global domination? I just happen to be the greatest criminal mind of our time...
(with apologies to Strong Bad)
Thank you for your well-stated response. I'm always afraid that questions will be seen as a tad abrasive, but you have taken it in the right spirit.
First of all, I want to sympathize with your economic plight. I am also by no means rich. I work full-time, and my wife and I are both students. We make our payments and have a little left over for food and such.
Second of all, I'm not the champion charitable donor myself. I'm pretty scattered, and I have a hard time budgeting for things like that. My suggestions were just as much geared towards myself as you or anyone else.
Finally, I don't want to downplay the other social contributions you are making. Open source software is a Good Thing (TM), but I also like your list of donees very much. It has inspired me to make sure to keep those kinds of organizations in mind, especially the EFF and my local public radio station. (Nothing against the ACLU, but I figure they get a lot more donations than the EFF and my local NPR affiliate combined.) Maybe I'll find the extra money for a political contribution this year, too... and I'm DEFINITELY voting this Presidential race, even in the primaries.
A better question would be:
"Why don't you give to the other open-source software projects?"
I know it seems like a pain, but pick a few of your favorites (maybe 3 to 5) and start setting aside a little money. Collect your spare change, or sell something on eBay, or whatever. Then donate 5 to 10 bucks to each of the projects.
I would expect you'd want to feel reasonably certain the developers will put the money to good use (buying helpful books or equipment), rather than dipping into the project fund to buy pizza and beer. Still, I imagine that once you've selected some worthy projects and sent them a little money it will make you feel good to have helped, and maybe you'll even be more likely to do it again in the future.
I tried version 1.0 and almost immediately switched to koffice (on linux). (At work, I tinkered with OO and AbiWord, but for the most part I have to stick with department standards, so I still have MS Word there.)
I recently installed the 1.1 beta, and it was dramatically better. Documents that choked 1.0 opened perfectly in 1.1. It even does a great job at handling PowerPoint presentations. (The main glitch I've noticed is it doesn't get the "path" correct when connecting two boxes with a connector line, but I imagine most simple presentations just have words and pictures.)
I love the Flash export for presentations and the PDF export for documents. No more having to print to a PS file and convert it, or install some PDF writer print driver. I also like the ODBC data interface, although I haven't yet figured out how to create a new datastore to add things to.
Aside from a few "cosmetic" issues (faster loading, more improved filters, etc.), the main thing they need to make OO a total MSOffice killer is an Access replacement, and possibly a Visio replacement. It would be nice if they could get enough developers to tackle the same kinds of projects as the KOffice team.
As the parent post says: even if you didn't like 1.0, give 1.1 a try. It is a vast improvement.
I didn't know the KDE project was into kosmology, too!
I was wondering that myself. The best place to keep track of this stuff is the Phoenix forums.
For the record, apparently they've decided on a name, but it hasn't received final approval from the lawyers yet. When it does, I'm guessing they'll announce the name and come out with a new release shortly thereafter.
Cryptography support.
Servers currently support SSL, and future versions will allow end-to-end encryption of the conversation itself.
Stability.
There are many different jabber clients. Some are more stable than others. Right now, I use Psi, which hasn't crashed on me once.
It should look nice and have a cool GUI.
Again, lots of different clients. I think Psi's GUI is nice. It certainly isn't as crufty as ICQ. But YMMV on this one.
It should be IM client, and nothing else.
Again, lots of clients to choose from. I don't know what kinds of features they may offer, but I'm sure there's bound to be one suited to you.
Portability.
Psi is written against QT and runs on Windows and linux. Not sure about other platforms, but I know there are Java clients out there that should run on nearly anything.
Zero tolerance policy on SPAM.
This would be up to the individual jabber server. The only thing I really got spam with is ICQ, though, which is why I don't use it. I don't get AIM spam since I stopped accepting messages from people not on my buddy list.
Support for modules.
This I'm not completely sure about. I know the SSL stuff for Psi is a drop in module. You just put the DLL (or .so if using linux) in the program's directory, and when you start back up, you have SSL available.
An open protocol specification.
The jabber protocol is completely open and 100% free. Anyone who wants is able to not only write their own client, but also their own server. Anyone can download the reference server code and run their own, too. It's very nice.
A real revenue model, not based on ads or spyware.
How about just free?
A shiny retail box.
Can't help ya there.
Jabber apparently stacks up pretty well. :)
OMG!! The Matrix??
*ROFL*
Wow... that's pretty funny.
"Specious" is a word -- look it up.
"pertinant" is spelled "pertinent".